Veteran's Day Salute: Rev. Laurence H. Keating

 

 

In honor of Veteran's Day, I want to salute one of our family veterans, Rev. Laurence Henry Keating (1907-1987).  Father Laurence was a Lieutenant Colonel with the U.S. Army serving as a Chaplain in the 7th Armored Division. He served in four battles or campaigns in World War II and earned a purple heart, a bronze star, and numerous other medals.  Father Laurence was fairly well known throughout the family, so I hope you will all find this information about his military service to be interesting.

Laurence was the 7th child of Eleanor Motie Keating and Edward M. Keating. My grandfather, Louis, was one of his older siblings. Laurence, Irma, and John were the youngest three and grew up in Palos Park, a suburb outside of Chicago. I am not sure why the Keating family moved from the city to the suburbs (really rural at that time), but they did.  My father believes the family moved to Palos for the children's health, grandpa's sister, Mary Felicite*, may have had heart problems as a result of rheumatic fever. (*Mary died in the 1918 flu pandemic.)

Here is a super cute photo of Laurence, Irma, and John from this era.  The photo is undated, but I am guessing is around 1917 or  1918. The photo is labeled, "Irma, Laurence, John under duress." *John is always super spirited in photos!

Father Laurence enlisted for army service on March 5, 1941. As you know, Pearl Harbor was bombed in December 1941, but the American military was preparing for a potential world war by the spring of 1941.  Father Laurence was 33 when he enlisted and already was a Catholic priest.  I do not have information about where Fr. Laurence was first stationed, but he became part of the Army's 7th armored division which was activated in March 1942. Father Laurence left for England on June 7, 1944 and arrived in England on June 17, 1944.  For context, the Allied Invasion of Normandy started on June 6, 1944, so Father Laurence was part of the Allied invasion of Europe.

Cousin Petra recalls Fr. Laurence telling her a story of his time on the ship headed to war. She writes,"He was aboard a ship that was part of the second wave preparing to land on D-Day beaches.  As the poor weather delayed their entry into the fight, the ship sailed back and forth waiting for their orders.  Watching the men grow uneasy and nervous, Uncle Laurence and the Lutheran Chaplin decided they needed to speak to the ship's commander.  Expressing their concern, the two Chaplins asked for suggestions for easing the men's worries.  All the commander could offer was a closet full of games.  Both men jumped at the chance and immediately broke out the playing cards, chess, and checker boards and anything else they could find.  Some measure of relief had been found."

 

According to Wikipedia, the 7th armored division arrived on Omaha and Utah beaches on August 13 and 14, 1944. At the time they were under the command of General George Patton.  The division participated in an attack on Chartres that ended with Chartres falling on August 18. 

Late September 1944, the 7th armored division was moved to the Netherlands to support Operation Market Garden. From Laurence's Military Record and Report of Separation, we see that Fr. Laurence was injured in Holland on Oct. 29, 1944.  We have no information about what the injury was, but he received a Purple Heart as a result the following year.

 

After the service in the Netherlands, the 7th armored was on the German-Dutch border. The Germans mounted an offensive in the Ardennes (a wooded region between Belgium and Luxembourg) that became known as the Battle of the Bulge.  Father Laurence was there with his unit during this very intense and bloody battle which started on Dec. 16, 1944 and lasted until January 25, 1945. 

Fr. Laurence and his division were stationed at St. Vith, Belgium.  The Battle of the Bulge was a horrible battle with fierce fighting and brutal winter weather. Both my dad and Petra recall that Father Laurence suffered frost bite on his ears from his time in that battle. Other than that detail, we do not know much about his time on the front lines. If Laurence shared stories with anyone in the family, please let me know, I would like to document those!

I wish we had photos of letters from Fr. Laurence's wartime, we do not. Here is a photo from a collection of Fr. Laurence's materials that Cousin Petra gave me.  The photo is both undated and unmarked, but I recognize Fr. Laurence on the far left.  With the help of a military uniform expert, Larry Stack, we have determined the photo was likely taken in 1941 or 1942 when Fr. Laurence was still in the U.S.  I believe the photo is from Easter because of the lilies on the left side and notice the detail of the flag having only 48 stars.

In addition to the Purple Heart Medal, Fr. Laurence received the Bronze Star, American Defense Ribbon and the EAME Theatre Robbon with four bronze battle stars.

So, this Veteran's Day we should all give a salute to the brave service of our ancestor, Fr. Laurence H. Keating!

We should all be proud of Fr. Laurence's brave service in WWII!

Thank you to Cousin Petra, my dad, Cousin Brian, and my brother Ed for context and information about WWII and the 7th armored.  Thanks also to Larry Stack, a colleague of my sister, who is an expert on the U.S. Military.  If anyone has any letters or recollections from Fr. Laurence, please share with me, so we can all share this important family information!